'Reality Radio': We're in the 'golden age'

RADIO

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, August 22, 2010

John Biewen and Davia Nelson talk about ?Reality Radio? at The Booksmith.
Photo by Christin Evans

John Biewen and Davia Nelson talk about ?Reality Radio? at The Booksmith.
Photo by Christin Evans

Photo: Christin Evans

'Reality Radio': We're in the 'golden age'

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True stories: As John Biewenbegan talking to the crowd at the Booksmith on Haight Street, his microphone, on a boom stand, kept dipping. A store assistant went up to adjust a knob on the boom. "You'd think I'd know how to operate one of these," Biewen said.

With him at the Booksmith was Davia Nelson, the local radio producer who with Nikki Silva makes up the Kitchen Sisters, master storytellers, by way of direct interviews, on National Public Radio ("Hidden Kitchens," "Lost and Found Sound" and "The Hidden World of Girls"). The Sisters are among 19 radio producers (or teams) who contributed essays to the book. Others include Ira Glass of "This American Life," Jay Allison("This I Believe") and Scott Carrier, a regular on "All Things Considered" and "Weekend America." The foreword is by Rick Moody, novelist, short-story writer and a radio nut since boarding school days in the mid-'70s in New Hampshire. Their essays are studded with insider anecdotes and examples of the writing and production process. They're "about the making of radio," Biewen said.

"Reality Radio" should not be confused with reality television, which now seesaws between unreal and surreal. Today's radio documentarians and audio collage artists, Biewen said, "are telling true stories, artfully."

They fall into three camps, he said: "journalists, storytellers and audio artists working with nonfiction but doing something striking with the medium. These producers do all three things."

Despite the sorry state of much of terrestrial radio, Biewen was upbeat. "We are living in the golden age of radio documentaries," he said. "We radio types even have a festival now (the Third Coast International Audio Festival in Chicago), a Sundance with no pictures. Podcasts proliferate. Listening lounges are sprouting across the country, where people gather to listen to audio pieces, by producers or by themselves."

Biewen played excerpts from the works of several of the producers in the book (a wealth of pieces is available at www.realityradiobook.org). A couple of the best examples came from the Kitchen Sisters. One of my favorites is their revelation about the surprising importance of a certain barbecue grill. This piece, first aired on "Morning Edition" on NPR in 2004 as part of their "Hidden Kitchens" series, was ignited by a tip that "the ultimate hidden kitchen" was the George ForemanGrill. The product, they learned, was being used by many homeless and poor people with no kitchens. They found and interviewed a Chicago man who foraged for food, then prepared it for himself and others under an overpass on Wacker Drive, plugging the appliance into a power pole.

After gathering other stories about the usefulness of the grill, Nelson and Silva called the former heavyweight boxing champ himself. "The stories he told us - about growing up hungry and angry - were stunning," they write in the book.

Silva and Nelson's current project, "Hidden World of Girls," collects stories from women and girls from around the world, by phone and online. But, Nelson notes, "There are stories told by boys and men, too. You never know who's holding a story."

Although he'll visit Afghanistan, Barr will do his broadcasts in Iraq for security reasons. "I was there when (the war) began, and now we're there for the end, since all U.S. combat involvement ceases at the end of August." Barr founded Sports Byline USA in 1988 and built it into a network of several hundred affiliate stations; its programs also are heard online and on Armed Forces Radio. "Whether you're for or against the wars," he said, "you've gotta love and respect the men and women in uniform." Although he has suffered several injuries, including shrapnel in his shoulders from a rocket attack in Afghanistan, he is unfazed. "This is the best thing I've done in my career and in my life," he says, adding that he has the support of his wife, Judy. "You see the e-mails and you get the smiles, people saying thanks for bringing us a bit of normalcy." But, he adds, "I go in with eyes open. You go down a road and you just wonder ..." Barr plans to post blogs on www.sportsbyline1.com. Who knows? He may even write about Gen. Stanley McChrystal. "I met him in Iraq, and his No. 2 was on my show. Those Special Forces guys are a different breed. That's all I'll say."

Appsolutely: Internet radio has come to the iPhone. For years, Apple and iTunes emphasized music from the iTunes store (natch), and, on the radio front, offered clones of established stations and formats, streaming, say, light rock a la KOIT (96.5 FM), but without the call letters or DJs. Now, thanks to free apps available at the iTunes store, iPhone, iPad (and, soon, Android) users can hear KOIT and sister stations KDFC (102.1 FM) and KBWF "The Wolf" (95.7 FM) wherever they have Wi-Fi. Along with the music, listeners can get song titles and artist info, an alarm clock and other features. (On the news-talk front, there are apps for KGO and KSFO. There are also apps for South Bay stations KBAY (94.5 FM) and KRTY (95.3 FM). And that's just the local angle. IPhoners can also get free apps for Pandora and Last.fm, which allow customized stations; AOL Radio (powered by CBS); NPR music and Fox News; Stitcher (for podcasts); and a variety of local stations around the country. Go to the iTunes store and search - e.g., "KOIT Radio." For "the Wolf," it's "957 Wolf SF." Note: Listening to radio on the phone does drain batteries. {sbox}

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